Striving Towards the True Good Throughout all these readings I have come to understand, that the basic key to Aristotle’s philosophy was achieving eudemonia or in other words, true happiness. Within the text of Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle goes on to explain how the aim of life is to reach the highest good. Aristotle explains how being good at something for example guitar playing would not necessarily make you virtuous, because that person may have a wretched personality that makes him a bad or unvirtuous person. Aristotle states you achieve happiness in many sorts of ways such as carpenters building a home, or an architect designing a building. Happiness relates to virtue because in order to be happy one must live a virtuous life by living in accordance to the given mean such as studying for a test although there is a party that night.
Within Book II he explains how there are certain conditions which must be met in order for actions to be virtuous such as actions done knowingly, chosen for their own sake, they arise from a steady state of the soul, and they arise from a steady state of the character itself. For example one can not only make a courageous act thinking “s/he” will benefit from the action, they must do it because it will make them feel happy. Aristotle states that friendships
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He certainly pointed out the major keys which he explained that virtue consisted of aiming towards true happiness and happiness is obtained by friendships which happen to benefit in such a way that virtue becomes easier to achieve. I realized that by continuing to practice my temperance virtue I will certainly gain a lot more out of life in the future rather then be hung up in the